NJPW Fantastica Mania 2019 Day 7 Results and Review

The Fantastica Mania tour is nearing its end as the second of three Korakuen Hall shows happened on Sunday. This was the first show on the tour that offered English commentary on NJPW World. Let’s go through the card.

Ryusuke Taguchi & Flyer vs. Gedo & Taiji Ishimori

The first match was a tag team battle between the team of Ryusuke Taguchi and Flyer and the team of Gedo and Taiji Ishimori. At the start of the match, Gedo and Taiji ambushed Taguchi and Flyer. Flyer was fighting a two-on-one battle, taking both Bullet Club members to the outside and then delivering a dive. Taguchi tried for a follow-up Crossbody but only landed on his teammate, Flyer. Taguchi did a Double Springboard Hip Attack and then did a B-Trigger many times. After Flyer seemingly was mounting some offence onto Ishimori, Taiji turned a roll-up pin attempt into an Ankle Lock to end the bout. After the match, Ishimori beat up Taguchi and took off his mask.

Templario & El Cuatrero vs. Angel de Oro & Titan

The second match had all CMLL wrestlers involved. Templario and Titan had a good starting combo of moves against each other. Templario delivered a nasty Powerbomb on the floor to Titan. All four guys were going fast from start to finish in this match. Angel de Oro landed a Springboard Moonsault for a two count on El Cuatrero. Templario and Titan had an impressive exchange of slaps, which made Templario land a Powerbomb afterwards. A second rope Powerbomb from Templario was reversed into a Huricanrana for a two count. El Cuatrero gave Angel de Oro a Crucifix Powerbomb for a close pinfall attempt. Angel de Oro put Cuatrero in a submission move to end the bout. What an exciting one this was!

Fujin, Raijin (RPG3K) & Toa Henare vs. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito

The next match was all NJPW talent if Fujin and Raijin count. As Naito was still in the process of being introduced, Los Ingobernables jumped their opponents. Henare was sent into the third row, crashing through chairs because of Naito. Naito and Henare also had some time in the ring against each other as that is the next IC title program. Henare hit a Samoan Drop on Naito for a two count. Naito landed a Draping corner Neckbreaker. Henare fought out of a two-on-one predicament against Naito and BUSHI and then tagged in Fujin. Raijin came in shortly after to join Fujin. They tried for the 3K on BUSHI but Tagaki and Naito came in to break it up. BUSHI and Takagi gave Fujin a Backcracker, and then a double team Codebreaker to win the match. After the match, Fujin and Raijin were unmasked, showing the crowd that they were SHO and YOH. BUSHI cut a short promo after the match. Henare also wanted to come back into the ring and go up to Naito but chose not to since Takagi and BUSHI were present. This felt like one of the only matches we’ve seen on the tour so far that had real storyline progression. We should have sensed that since CMLL had no involvement in this one. Naito called out commentator Milano Collection A.T. to take Naito’s hat and put it on his head. Very cautiously, Milano did this.

OKUMURA, Forastero & Sanson vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Atlantis & Atlantis Jr.

In a six-man match, Liger and both Atlantis’ fought OKUMURA, Forastero and Sanson. During the match, OKUMURA’s manager came into the ring and got suplexed by Liger. This match had tons of moments with more than two wrestlers in the ring. OKUMURA did a back body drop DDT type of move to win the match. This match went a little too long in my opinion. After the match, OKUMURA, Saanson and Forastero cut a promo on Atlantis Jr. A brawl broke out afterwards where both Atlantis’ was unmasked.

Namajague, El Barbaro Cavernario & Caristico vs. Audaz, El Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr.

This next six-man tag match included El Barbaro Cavernario, who the crowd really likes. Volador Jr. also got a big reaction. He wore a Spiderman themed outfit for this match. Early in the match, the team of Audaz, Soberano and Volador did triple dives to the outside. There was a five-person Superplex followed right up by a Springboard Frogsplash by Volador. Caristico was unmasked while doing a Sunset Flip, and it seemed like maybe one side of the venue got to see his face for a good second. Caristico put in his submission on Volador Jr. to win. This match had the crowd absolutely amped up. I thought this was one of those fun matches where nobody seemed to ever relax.

El Terrible vs. Satoshi Kojima

Before the main event, we saw a singles match between El Terrible and Satoshi Kojima. I liked a spot in this match where both guys exhausted each other from trading chops. Kojima landed a Superplex for a two count. After clotheslining Terrible to the outside, Kojima did a Crossbody to the outside. After a Frogsplash, Terrible tried for a move but Kojima fought out of it. Kojima hit a Brainbuster for a two count. He took off an elbow pad and went for a Lariat but was met with a strike by Terrible. Terrible did nasty looking slaps in a corner and then did a Styles Clash for the win. This was a good match and a good change of pace with so many lightning fast tag matches on this tour. After the match, the Los Ingobernables de Japon trio from earlier came out to celebrate with Terrible.

Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Dragon Lee & Mistico

The main event was Gran Guerrero and Ultimo Guerrero facing Dragon Lee and Mistico. Mistico duped everyone during the match by taking off his mask to reveal a second, identical mask. Mistico also did a wild spot where he ran off of the first elevated row of Korakuen and did a Huricanrana. Lee and Mistico did Tope Con Hiro’s at the same time. In another great double team move, both of the Guerreros did double baseball slides to Lee and Mistico, who were on the apron. Ultimo did a jump off the top rope to the outside after Gran Guerrero went over all three ropes. Ultimo Guerrero did a face-first Superplex off the second rope for a close two count. The crowd was red hot at this point. Lee tried for a Huricanrana off the top but was reversed into a Powerbomb by Ultimo. Sitting at the top rope, Lee and Ultimo traded blows. Lee hit his Draping Double Stomp but Gran Guerrero came in to break the count. Lee hit a Tope Suicida to Ultimo Guerrero, and Mistico came in. Mistico was hit with a Powerbomb and kicked out at the pinfall afterwards. Mistico hit a top rope Huricanrana for a close count. Mistico put on the arm submission move to win the match. This was a truly great match, with a real main event feel. Great way to wrap up what was one of the better Fantastica Mania shows on this tour.

NJPW Fantastica Mania 2019 Day 6 Results and Review

NJPW returned to Korakuen Hall for the sixth night of Fantastica Mania. Besides the exhibition matches on this card, we also saw the finals of the CMLL Family Tournament. Let’s dive in.

Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & Audaz vs. Gedo, Taiji Ishimori & Templario

At first glance, it felt like there was a front row of Korakuen taken out for this show. Something about it looked odd. Late into this match Audaz and Templario had a good battle while everyone else was laid out. What was a pretty quick match was ended by Audaz after he put Templario in an arm submission move. After the match, Taguchi taunted Ishimori, which seemed to get on his nerves.

OKUMURA & Forastero vs. Angel de Oro & Titan

The second match was a two on two tag match between OKUMURA, Forastero, Angel de Oro and Titan. Titan was hit before the bell by Forastero. Titan did an amazing move where he tried a Moonsault over the ropes to the outside but landed on his feet perfectly on the floor instead. At one point Angel de Oro was being hit outside the ring while sitting on a table until a table leg gave out on him. After Titan and Forestero were out on the outside, Angel de Oro did a Springboard Moonsault for a two count. OKUMURA hit a Draping DDT for a two count of his own. After a dropkick, Angel did a dive to the outside onto OKUMURA. Titan and Forastero got back in the ring, with Titan putting on some complex roll-up pin for the win. While the finish wasn’t exactly exciting, the match was very fun to watch.

Fujin, Raijin, Toa Henare & Satoshi Kojima vs. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & El Terrible

The next match was a memorial match for Black Cat. Henare and Naito fought each other for a significant amount of time in this match. It was Kojima and El Terrible who got the hot tag late in this match. Kojima did his chops in the corner, and then tried for a top rope move but got stopped. El Terrible threw him off the top rope, and then with the help of Naito, landed a Frogsplash. The pinfall that followed was broken up. El Terrible tried for a Powerbomb but Kojima fought out of it and landed a Cutter. Kojima landed a Lariat to end the match. What caught my eye about the match was the finish and the battle between Naito and Henare early on.

Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Atlantis & Atlantis Jr.

We had a rematch from the last show with Gran Guerrero and Ultimo Guerrero fighting Atlantis and Atlanis Jr. There was a point in this match where both Atlantis and Atlantis Jr. did dives together. After Atlantis did a Crossbody to the outside, Gran Guerrero landed a fancy Powerbomb to win the match.

Namajague & Caristico vs. Volador Jr. & Flyer

This next match was a tag between Namajague, Caristico, Volador Jr. and Flyer. Flyer lived up to his name early on and did a dive to outside the ring. He gave Namajague a Huricanrana on the floor minutes after. On the top rope, Volador Jr. gave Caristico a Huricanrana for a pinfall broken up by Namajague. Caristico ended the match with the arm move he’s been using all tour. This was after he was hit with an only okay looking Canadian Destroyer by Flyer.

El Barbaro Cavernario vs. El Soberano Jr.

Before the main event, we got a rare singles match. El Barbaro Cavernario faced El Soberano Jr. Cavernario did an amazing Codebreaker onto Soberano, who was hung on the ropes in a corner. After a lengthy battle on the apron, Cavernario did a drive through a corner and onto Soberano. Both of these guys were really putting on a show. Soberano had a good combo in the match where he went off the ropes with a very spinny move, and then a Springboard Moonsault for a close pinfall attempt. He did that same spinny move later on, but this time to outside the ring. What was by far the craziest thing in this match was Cavernario’s Frogsplash to outside the ring, onto the floor. All I can say is it looks like a hard landing. Soberano tried for a Piledriver but Cavernario flipped and landed a Piledriver of his own. For a second I was worried that Soberano might have died. The finish of the match was Cavernario reversing a flipping move from Soberano into a submission. This match was pretty good but I felt the finish could have been something else since we had already gotten so many submission finishes on this show.

El Cuatrero & Sanson vs. Dragon Lee & Mistico (CMLL Family Tag Team Tournament)

In the main event, we had the finals of the four-team CMLL Family Tag Team Tournament. Before the bell, El Cuartrero and Sanson dove onto Dragon Lee and Mistico. They absolutely trashed the ringside chairs, hitting Lee and Mistico in the head with the chairs. All four of these guys put on an amazing match. El Cuatrero was on the ropes with Mistico. Cuatrero was in control, but then Dragon Lee came in to disrupt. As Mistico did a Moonsault to outside the ring onto Sanson, Lee did a double stomp on the ropes for a two count. He did a knee strike and then a slam to end the match. I loved this main event. It was a good way to close the show.

NJPW Fantastica Mania 2019 Day 5 Results and Review

Let’s look at night five of the NJPW Fantastica Mania tour. A full review of the first night can be found here. Here are the results of the four non-televised nights of the tour:

Night 2 – 1/12/19 – Imabari, Ehime, Japan:

Audaz, KUSHIDA & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Gedo, Taichi Ishimori & Templario
Flyer & Titan def. Forestero & Taichi
Okumura, Sanson & Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Atlantis, Atlantis Jr. & Tiger Mask
El Barbaro Cavernario, El Cuatrero & Ultimo Guerrero def. Andel de Oro, El Soberano Jr. & Mistico
Dragon Lee, Jushin Thunger Liger & Volador Jr. def. Caristico, Gran Guerrero & Namajague
BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, Tetusuya Naito & El Terrible def. Fujin, Raijin, Satoshi Kojima & Toa Henare

Night 3 – 1/13/19 – Kyoto, Japan:

Gedo, Taichi Ishimori & Templario def. Audaz, Jushin Thunder Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi
Angel de Oro & KUSHIDA def. El Cuatrero & Taichi
Atlantis, Atlantis Jr. & Flyer def. Okumura, Sanson & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
El Soberano Jr., Mistico & Titan def. El Barbaro Cavernario, Forastero & Ultimo Guerrero
Caristico, Gran Guerrero & Namajague def. Dragon Lee, Tiger Mask & Volador Jr.
BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & El Terrible def. Fujin, Raijin, Satoshi Kojima & Toa Henare

Night 4 – 1/14/19 – Gifu, Japan:

Audaz, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask def. Gedo, Taichi Ishimori & Templario
El Cuatrero & Taichi def. Angel de Oro & Flyer
Atlantis, Atlantis Jr. & KUSHIDA def. Okumura, Sanson & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Dragon Lee, El Soberano Jr. & Titan def. El Barbaro Cavernario, Forastero & Gran Guerrero
Jushin Thunder Liger, Mistico & Volador Jr. def. Caristico, Namajague & Ultimo Guerrero
BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & El Terrible def. Fujin, Raijin, Satoshi Kojima & Toa Henare

KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Titan vs. Taichi Ishimori, Gedo & Sanson

The first match had four NJPW wrestlers and two CMLL luchadors. Taguchi is still wearing his emperor outfit, and KUSHIDA is still walking out with a huge robot head. Very early on Titan did an impressive dive to the outside onto Sanson. KUSHIDA and Taguchi tried following suit, but both came up short. Sanson being the rudo he is, tried unmasking Sanson only minutes deep into the contest. Sanson put Titan in his finishing move to end the bout. This was a very short bout with no real substance besides the diving spot early on. After the bell Ishimori and Gedo continued their submission moves outside the ring. Taguchi had a face-off with Taguchi after the bout as well.

Fujin & Raijin (RPG3K) vs. BUSHI & Shingo Takagi

While at first glance this match seems like it has a crossover in it, it doesn’t. SHO and YOH from RPG3K are masked and under the aliases of “Fujin” and “Raijin” for this tour. They faced BUSHI and Shingo Takagi at this event. Late in this match, Fujin and BUSHI got hot tags, with RPG3K trying for the 3K but not landing it. BUSHI did a double Huricanrana to fight off RPG3K. BUSHI and Takagi picked on Fujin, with BUSHI delivering a Backbreaker at the end of a combo. While BUSHI was laid out Takagi gave both RPG3K members a Clothesline and then took Raijin out of the equation. Fujin gave BUSHI a roll-up to end the match. This match felt disappointing from start to finish.

Namajague, OKUMURA, El Barbaro Cavernario vs. Audaz, El Soberano Jr. & Angel de Oro

This six-man tag was one where I wasn’t too familiar with anyone in it. I thought that Namajague’s mask looked very pretty. Soberano Jr. delivered a Huricanrana at one point where he got so much air that it was amazing. Soberano Jr. did a Springboard Moonsault onto OKUMURA who was hanging on the ropes to end the match. The time that he got in this match really made him stick out. The match kicked into it’s highest gear around 10 minutes in, and then just went full speed to the finish. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Toa Henare & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tetsuya Naito & El Terrible

In the next match, El Terrible teamed with Tetsuya Naito to face Toa Henare and Satoshi Kojima. Naito took this fight into the crowd quickly. Naito hit Henare with a chair. Henare and El Terrible had a good spot where they traded slaps. El Terrible ended the match with a Styles Clash on Henare. This was a fun match with Naito and El Terrible working well together.

Templario, Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger & Caristico

This was the final match before the two tournament matches. We saw quite a bit out of Tiger Mask in this matchup, with him doing a Crossbody to the outside at one point. Caristico did his Armbar move to win the match. The stock music he was given for this broadcast was horrible.

El Cuatrero (Horseshoe) & Sanson vs. Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. (CMLL Family Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals)

The two final matches on this card were part of a four-team tournament running on two shows of the tour. The tournament is for families from CMLL. The newly debuted Atlantis Jr. teamed with Atlantis to face El Cuatrero and Sanson. Sanson did a dive to the outside onto Atlantis Jr. early into the match. The match ended in the corner when Atlantis Jr. and Sanson were on the top rope. Sanson reversed whatever Atlantis Jr. was planning and turned it into a slam of some type. Like I said in the first report, Atlantis Jr. looks very good despite being only days into his debut.

Flyer & Volador Jr. (Blue Spider) vs. Dragon Lee (White) & Mistico (Gold & Silver)

In the main event, Flyer and Volador Jr. faced Dragon Lee & Mistico. Dragon Lee and Flyer had a good exchange at the start. Flyer did a Moonsault off the ropes, and Volador Jr. did a Tope Suicida right after. Minutes later, Dragon Lee and Mistico returned the favour, delivering dives of their own. Dragon Lee gave Volador Jr. a double stomp in a corner of the ring, and then took a DDT from Flyer. Mistico and Volador Jr. both landed Canadian Destroyers like it was nobodies business. Dragon Lee was going to do another double stomp, but Flyer came up to the top and turned it into a Spanish Fly. This got a two count which was broken up by Mistico. Mistico got a close count by doing a Huricanrana off the second rope onto Volador Jr. He followed it up with a Moonsault outside the ring. Flyer landed a Canadian Destroyer in the ring on Dragon Lee for a two count. Flyer also kicked out of a Powerbomb from Lee. Lee landed a knee strike and then another Powerbomb to end the match. This was a very fun main event, and I have no complains at all.

NJPW Fantastica Mania 2019 Night 1 Results and Review

The first night of the Fantastica Mania tour took place on Friday at the Osaka Prefectural Gym #2 in Japan. Let’s go through the card which included CMLL and NJPW talent.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Audaz vs. Taiji Ishimori, Gedo & Templario

For the first match, Ryusuke Taguchi was wearing some sort of Egyptian emperor outfit. Taguchi and Tiger Mask teamed with Audaz to face Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Templario. Ishimori was sporting his NEVER Openweight 6-man belt along with his NJPW Jr. Heavyweight Championship. Tiger Mask and Gedo started the match. Gedo was wearing a Jay White t-shirt. Very early into the match, Audaz did an impressive dive to the outside onto Templario. This made both of them crash into a commentary table. Audaz and Templario were of course given a pretty big spotlight in this match. There was quite a bit of time where both guys were specifically battling each other. Templario landed a Powerbomb onto Audaz to give his team the win. Taguchi also had some pretty good spots on this match, doing a Crossbody of some sort to Ishimori at one point.

Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Forastero vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Flyer & Titan

The next segment started off amazing because we were treated to a live performance from Taichi. If you aren’t a fan of how you can’t heat Togi Makabe’s music, you would hate this show. A chunk of the songs on the program was muted because they were CMLL songs. The CMLL fighters weren’t used to Suzuki-gun’s attack before the bell tactic and fell victim to it. Taichi took his fight against Liger to the ringside seats. Fly did a Springboard Moonsault to the outside onto Kanemaru during this match. Forastero was trying for a Powerbomb off the second rope, but Titan reversed it into a Huricanrana for a two count. The match finally came to a stop after Forastero put Titan in an Armbar of some sort for the submission. This match felt a little too short since all of these guys were really pulling off some pretty good stuff.

Okumura & Sanson vs. Atlantis & Atlantis Jr.

This match was a big one, as Atlantis Jr. made his pro wrestling debut. It was the original Atlantis that started in the match against Okumura. Jr. seemed to have a good amount of experience, being able to do moves, including dives. His second dive was followed up by a crossbody from Atlantis. His moves inside the ring seemed a little rough around the edges, but it felt like a good debut. In the ring, Atlantis did another Crossbody off the top. He then had to fight off both of his opponents at once. He tagged in Atlantis Jr., who traded chops and strikes with Sanson. Atlantis Jr. got hit with a reverse Cross-Rhodes from Okumura for the win. This was because he was distracted pleading the ref to count three when hit in the back by Okumura. I guess he has some more to learn about turning his back on opponents. After the match, Sanson and Okumura unmasked their opponents and flaunted the masks to the crowd. This was a pretty good match to be quite honest.

El Cuatrero, Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Angel De Oro, Dragon Lee & Mistico

After the last match, we saw something that we haven’t seen a while in NJPW, an intermission. The first match back was an all-CMLL wrestler match. Out of all of the six, it sounded like Dragon Lee got the biggest reaction. Although it’s hard to tell for sure since Mistico’s reaction couldn’t be heard over the broadcast’s very loud altered music. The match started with Mistico and Ultimo Guerrero. There was an interesting move where both of the Guerrero’s slammed Mistico from the top rope. Angel De Oro, Lee and Mistico all faked dives to the outside at one point. At some point I lost track of all of the dives and other crazy moves that were done in this match. It was an absolute ball. Angel De Oro and El Cuatrero were in the ring with everyone else outside the ring. Cuatrero did a Powerbomb to end the match.

Namajague, El Barbaro Cavernario & Caristico vs. KUSHIDA, El Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr.

In the next match, KUSHIDA was fighting. KUSHIDA will be leaving NJPW at the end of the month. Soberano Jr. and Barbaro Cavernario started the match with a good exchange. After a few dives from both parties, Caristico put Volador Jr. in an Armbar for the win. This, like another match earlier was way too short. I felt that Kushida didn’t get much time to shine.

Fujin (SHO) & Raijin (YOH) (RPG3K), Toa Henare & Satoshi Kojima vs. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & El Terrible

The main event of the show was CHAOS versus Los Ingobernables in an 8-man match. El Terrible started in the ring against Kojima. SHO and YOH were dressed as Fujin and Raijin, the characters they played when working for CMLL. At one point in the match, Takagi was on a roll against RPG3K, giving one of them a Rock Bottom, throwing him on their teammate. Kojima did a crazy amount of chops to El Terrible then went to the top but got stopped. Fujin and Raijin both worked on BUSHI, giving him a Double Knees, but not being able to follow up with the 3K. After that, it was a wild amount of people who came in the ring and did a move. BUSHI got the win with a roll-up to end the match. While it was a decent match, the roll-up felt somewhat disappointing, especially for the main event. It felt like it was missing one more exchange that would have given the match a truly grand finale. After the match, Takagi and BUSHI had a face-off with Fujin and Raijin. BUSHI spoke as well.

NJPW New Year Dash 2019 Results and Review

After such a big show yesterday at the Tokyo Dome, New Japan goes to the more intimate environment of Korakuen Hall for New Year Dash, the promotion’s RAW after Wrestlemania. We aren’t looking for a match of the year, but some stories are set to be told. I’m no Korakuen expert, but the venue looks extra packed since there is no projector on the wall. I could be wrong though. I’ve heard how much of a hot ticket this show is, which only makes sense since you can only put so many of those 30 something thousand from the Tokyo Dome into this small building.

Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Great Bash Heel) & Takashi Iizuka vs. Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH (RPG3K)

The first fight of the evening was RPG3K versus Suzuki-gun members. Right off the bat, the heels took RPG3K to outside the ring. Rocky started off against Archer in the ring. He got him outside the ring but when going for a dive was caught and thrown down. When Archer tagged in Iizuka he took off his mask, which made him go around and bit everyone. Of course, the ref had no real authority over this. Later on, Rocky was getting pummeled by Smith Jr., until he made a hot tag after doing the BUSHI kick. Both SHO and YOH came in to fight Smith Jr. The three members of Suzuki-gun got rid of SHO and then singled out YOH. YOH was Powerslammed off the second rope, but SHO broke it up. YOH escaped a Killer Bomb with the help of SHO once again. Smith Jr. was given triple stereo knees and then reversed a move into a Double Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Iizuka was tagged in once again, biting everyone. While trying to bite SHO he reversed it into a roll-up to win the match. They ran to the back to avoid possible death from their opponents. Smith Jr. beat up a ringside member, Powerslamming him onto the floor. The commentary team told us about how in their first meeting they also won via fluke, so this is a good way to continue the trend.

Yujiro Takahashi w/ Pieter & Chase Owens vs. Toa Henare & Tomoaki Honma

It was a surprise to me that we were getting a two on two match here. Although I guess it is three guys who are pretty fresh since they weren’t fighting last night. Early on Honma tried for a Kokeshi but Owens rolled out of the ring. When Henare and Takahashi were in, Henare was the most dominant wrestler. Honma got the hot tag late in the bout against Takahashi. He tried for a Kokeshi after a combo, but Yujiro dodged it. Takahashi hit a Fisherman Buster for a close count. On the second attempt, he finally landed the Kokeshi. Owens and Henare were tagged in next. Henare hit a Shoulder Tackle and then lifted Owens for a Samoan Drop, not before hitting Yujiro with him. Owens gave Small Package Piledriver for the win after giving him a mini-Superkick, countering a roll-up. Not a bad match, with some really good wrestling from Owens at the end.

Chuckie T & Berreta (Best Friends) vs. David Finlay & Juice Robinson (FinJuice)

This match was Juice’s first match after winning the US Heavyweight Championship. He seemed eccentric in his entrance. Early on in the match Berreta went into the stands and hugged his mother. Heading back to the ring the self-proclaimed “Best Friends” had some pushing and shoving before Berreta got back in the ring. Both members of FinJuice did a Crossbody to the outside. Finlay got hung on the guardrail at ringside, letting Berreta do a double stomp off the apron. When it was Juice and Berreta in the ring, Juice escaped a Dude-Buster but got hit with a kick to the head. He couldn’t connect with the Pulp Friction and got hit with a Shotgun Knee for all his troubles. Finlay got the tag against Berreta. Finlay hit a backbreaker for a close count. Chuckie T came in with a chair against Finlay to throw away the match. The storyline that Kevin Kelly was pushing was that Chuckie T has lost his mind. Juice came in to attack Chuckie T. Once Juice got hit with a chair as well, Berreta was shouting at Chuck, trying to figure out what happened. As they were leaving Chuck went back in and did a Piledriver to Finlay on a chair.

KUSHIDA, Jeff Cobb & Yuji Nagata vs. Will Ospreay, Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii

This next match is Ospreay’s first one after becoming the new NEVER Openweight Champion. There was a good spot late in this match where Nagata and Ishii were trading blows. Those two battled it out in the ring where everyone else stayed at ringside. When Cobb got tagged in he had a great combo of moves with Goto. They both clotheslined each other to set up for another hot tag. KUSHIDA and Ospreay came in next. KUSHIDA landed a dropkick after some counters and took out both of Ospreay’s teammates. Will hit a Springboard Forearm. He tried for the Os-Cutter, but Cobb came in to catch him and take him down. KUSHIDA got suplexed onto Will by Cobb for a two count. That spot was very cool. After numerous reversals, KUSHIDA gave Ospreay a DDT. A Back To The Future was reversed by Ospreay, and he did a flippy move off of Ishii’s back. Ospreay gave KUSHIDA a Storm Breaker to end the match. This match was some real fun. Just wild stuff being done by KUSHIDA and Will, with the help of everyone else. Nagata and Ishii slapped each other after the belt, making others pull them apart. A similar thing happened with Goto and Cobb.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano & Togi Makabe vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (Geurillas of Destiny) Taichi Ishimori w/ Jado (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship Match)

The only title match on this card was Taguchi Japan challenging three Bullet Club members for their 6-man belts. They won the opportunity on the pre-show of Wrestle Kingdom last night. Just like last night, Yano got distracted because he would wait for Taguchi to call a play. Yano untied a corner pad while in there with Tama Tonga. GoD claims that they are no longer cheats. Tonga proved this by putting Yano into a normal corner instead of the corner with the exposed buckles. When Taguchi was tagged in he tried for a Three Amigos, getting two of the three suplexes. Jado hit Taguchi with a kendo stick when he went on the ropes. I guess Jado doesn’t share the same philosophy as GoD. As the ref was counting a pin on Tonga Loa, Ishimori dragged the ref out. Jado came into the ring to try to hit Makabe with a kendo stick, but Yano came behind and gave him a low blow. Makabe fought off both GoD members, bringing it back to just him and Tanga Loa. He slammed Loa and then went to the top rope, but Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens came out. Takahashi pushed him off the ropes, and Owens gave him a Small Package Piledriver. Loa hit his finishing move to let the team retain. I love this gimmick. That the Guerillas of Destiny don’t cheat, but their buddies do. All of the guys too sweeted after the match, so I guess all is good with them. Though really, it shows that Bullet Club is really bad at cheating. Jado couldn’t give them an advantage, so two more were needed.

El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. w/ Taka Michinoku & Minoru Suzuki vs. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL & Tetsuya Naito

In a 10-man match, Suzuki-gun faced Los Ingobernables de Japon. There was lots of gold carried into the ring, as all LOS members have belts. As Naito was still getting ready for the match, Taichi clubbed him in the head with a chair. The camera shot was perfect so that you didn’t see this coming. Right off the bat, this match turned into chaos. Taichi and Naito started the match. Naito was really selling the chair shot. Naito was thrown into a press table, and Suzuki took SANADA into the hallway of Korakuen. Naito somehow got the hot tag later against Taichi, despite being beaten to a pulp. Taichi hit Naito with his IC title while the ref was distracted, and then hit his finishing move to win the match. It looks like that will be the next program for Naito. After the match, Taichi called out Naito and threw his belt. I liked this segment. It’s obvious that Taichi won’t actually become champ, but it’s a fun angle to do in the meantime.

Gedo, Bad Luck Fale & Jay White vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi

In the main event, we got the return of YOSHI-HASHI. Along with that, we also saw the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Early on Gedo took a chair to Yoshi. He was in no way given a slow return. Okada was given a hot tag and had a face-off with Gedo. Okada fought off Bad Luck Fale before tagging in Tanahashi against Jay White. White gave Tanahashi a Snap Side-Suplex but got hit with a Swingblade after talking to the crowd. YOSHI-HASHI got the tag against White, hitting a Huricanrana. Moments later White hit a Rock Bottom and then called for the Blade Runner. Okada came in to stop it. White tried again for a Blade Runner but it got reversed into a Twist & Shout. YOSHI-HASHI came back in to do a clothesline and a suplex for a two count. He picked up White again and tried for a move but White escaped by hurting the ref. YOSHI-HASHI did a Superkick but got his move reversed into a German Suplex. White hit the Blade Runner to win the match. Welcome back, YOSHI-HASHI. After the match, White called out Tanahashi. This made him come back to the ring. He got jumped but the Bullet Club once he was in the ring. Okada came in to try to save Tanahashi but got hit with a Grenade from Bad Luck Fale. White did his Blade Runner move to Tanahashi. As the show was ending he hoisted the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Pretty good promo from White.

In general, this show was short and sweet. No huge surprises on the show, but I left satisfied. It’s obvious based off who was left off this show that a lot of people are either gone or still in question. We got two solid angles set up from this show, with other smaller ones also being showcased. New Japan returns on the 11th for the first televised event of the NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania tour.

NJPW World Tag League 2018 Day 2 Results and Review

Show: NJPW World Tag League Day 2

When: 11/18/18

Where: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan

After an explosive first day in Kanagawa, New Japan heads back to the famous Korakuen Hall for day 2 of the World Tag League. Chris Charlton and Don Callis were on commentary alongside the usual Kevin Kelly.

Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay

The first undercard match was Robinson and Finlay versus Young Lions Uemura and Tsuji. Robinson and Finlay are coming off a win from Saturday with Tsuji and Uemura losing to Cobb and Elgin in a non-Tag League match. Uemura got a hot tag on Finlay late in the match after Robinson was taken out by a Back Body Drop from Tsuji. The Young Lion duo did the Two Man Boston Crab, a spot that was done on FinJuice the night before but by a different duo. Robinson head butted both Young Lions in an attempt to get them off of Finlay but they endured. They let go after a Double Dropkick. Finlay finished the match with a Brainbuster.

Ren Narita & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (Guerrillas of Destiny) w/ Jado

Honma, who is still on his comeback tour teamed with Young Lion Ren Narita in the next match. Jado came out with the Guerrillas of Destiny and an airhorn. GoD jumped their opponents early. Early on Honma tried for a Kokeshi onto Tama Tonga, but when going off the ropes Jado hit him with a kendo stick. After Honma was beaten up by Loa he acted unconscious in the ring. Tama Tonga tried to do his own Kokeshi but Honma dodged it. This got a big pop from the crowd. Honma didn’t land his Kokeshi when he tried, but got a DDT then gave Narita a hot tag onto Loa. When Loa was put in a Boston Crab Honma took out Jado, but Tama Tonga broke it up. Tonga got taken out then was given a Kokeshi from Honma. Back with Loa in the ring Narita did a bridging pin after failing to land a suplex. Narita went off the ropes and got hit with a Clothesline for a two count. Loa landed his finisher to end the match. Narita looked great in this match. He really stuck out as the star in the matchup. I thought that maybe he could have gotten more time since Honma is obviously still getting back to 100%. I know it’s in their gimmick, but I wished that Loa had a less profane name for his finisher.

Shota Umino, Ayato Yoshida, Toa Henare & Togi Makabe vs. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

The entrances came in an odd order for this next match with teams taking turns with their entrances. Umino got a hot tag late in the match onto Henare. He delivered a great looking Missile Dropkick, with the pin after it being broken up by Kojima. After a scramble involving most wrestlers Henare gave Umino a Samoan Drop and a Rock Bottom for the win. I really liked the exchange between Henare and Umino in this match. The rest didn’t really appeal to me.

Yujiro Takahashi, Hangman Page & Kota Ibushi vs. Beretta & Chuckie T (Best Friends) & Hirooki Goto

This next match was a rematch from yesterday in a sense. On Saturday, Beretta and Chuckie T defeated Takahashi and Page in what I considered an upset. Page got a great combo of moves when tagged in against Beretta. Page took out both teammates of Beretta, then took him outside the ring and landed a dive. After both wrestlers were in the ring for a long time Ibushi and Goto both got hot tags. Chuckie T landed a Pop-Up Powerbomb on Ibushi for a two count and tried for the top rope but got a kick instead. Takahashi tagged in and got hit with a Soul Food. Best Friends did Stereo Crossbodies to the outside. After a crazy combo from many wrestlers involved, Page gave Chuckie T a Buckshot Lariat, then Takahashi did a DDT for the win. Looked like a night off for Goto. After the match Goto asks Ibushi if he wants a title shot. Goto says he’s done asking Ibushi if he wasn’t to fight him. This made Ibushi say he wants the fight, making Goto say it’s going to happen. So there’s the next defense for the NEVER Openweight Championship.

Shingo Takagi, BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito vs. RPG3K (SHO & YOH) & Kazuchika Okada

The final preliminary match was RPG3K and Okada versus a trio of LIJ members. This match was essentially a boiled down version of the main event from night one. Naito and Okada started this match. Not long into the match LIJ started to throw members into the barricades at ringside. SHO hit hard, almost going into the crowd. SHO and Takagi had a great exchange in the ring. When BUSHI got tagged in he hit a Dropkick off the top rope and then his patented Bushirooni. RPG3K did a Double Suplex onto Takagi and then tagged in Okada to work on BUSHI. He exchanged blows with Naito after he broke up his pinfall. BUSHI and Okada took the match home with Okada following up a Dropkick with the Rainmaker for the win. Maybe I’m crazy, but it felt like I hadn’t seen a Rainmaker in a while. I was hoping to see more teamwork between RPG3K, but only really got one spot out of it.

Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) (0-0) vs. Takashi Iizuka & Minoru Suzuki (0-0) (World Tag League Match)

After quite the extensive undercard we finally began with the Tag League matches. KES faced Iizuka and their own group’s leader, Minoru Suzuki. Iizuka entered through the crowd without anyone from Suzuki Gun walking him out. When Suzuki-gun faces themselves you can bet that they’ll be starting with a brawl around the venue. After a lengthy fight outside the ring the match finally began. Suzuki’s strong style was tested as many times KES would no-sell his shots. After Suzuki was gotten rid of, KES hit a Killer Bomb on Iizuka for the win. The way I perceived the match is that Iizuka’s dirty tactics didn’t work and because of this actually distracted and detrimented him. After the match Suzuki shook hands with KES.

Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (0-0) vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (0-0) (World Tag League Match)

The next match was Suzuki-gun versus CHAOS. After maybe 8 minutes of the match Yano got a tag to fight Taichi. Yano undid two corner pads. When turning around from undoing the second one, Taichi hit him with the first one. Taichi ran into an exposed corner then got his long pants ripped off by Yano. A roll-up pin only gave Yano a two count. Yano’s corners worked against his team as Ishii ran into one once he got tagged in. After Ishii was thrown in the corner once again, ZSJ put him in a submission move that Ishii escaped. Yano came in and gave both of his opponents a Fireman’s Carry and another move for each. He gave ZSJ an Inverted Atomic drop after running him into a corner, then Ishii hit a German Suplex for a two count. Taichi took care of Yano while ZSJ did a Penalty Kick and then a roll-up for a two count. Yano hit a clothesline for a close count. The crowd was unglued at this point. ZSJ turned a Vertical Drop Brainbuster into a Triangle Choke. While the ref was looking at Ishii, Taichi hit Yano with a mic-stand. Ishii passed out, ending the match. The match was enjoyable but the ref spot was lazy. The ref was looking for a tap from Ishii, but was also shielding his eyes for no reason? They weren’t even trying with the finish. ZSJ raised Yano’s RPW Championship after the match.

SANADA & EVIL (0-0) vs. Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb (0-0) (World Tag League Match)

The main event of the second night was SANADA and EVIL facing Michael Elgin and Jeff Cobb. Cobb and SANADA started the match. Cobb and Elgin repeated their spot from Night one where they took turns holding someone upside down. Cobb did an impressive Standing Moonsault but got hit by EVIL’s knees on the way down. When Elgin got tagged in at one point he gave both opponents a Spinning Forearm and then dove to the outside where EVIL was. Elgin tried for a German Suplex but SANADA escaped. SANADA went off the ropes but got Superkicked then hit with the German Suplex upon second attempt. While Cobb was being held back by EVIL, SANADA tried to end the match with with a Skulls End, but Cobb eventually stopped it. Later on SANADA let go of a Skulls Ends to let EVIL do a Magic Killer with him. After Elgin and SANADA were in the ring for the longest time Cobb and EVIL got tagged in. Cobb gave EVIL a Tour of The Islands for a pin that was broken up by SANADA. With SANADA now outside of the ring, Elgin gave EVIL a Superplex, and Cobb did a Standing Moonsault for a kickout. I genuinely believed that would be the finish. After Cobb dodged an Everything Is EVIL, EVIL escaped another Tour of The Islands, did another Magic Killer with SANADA. EVIL landed his Everything is EVIL move to finish the match.

I felt that A Tour of The Islands and the Magic Killer were both done one too many times. While this match entertained by I thought Cobb and Elgin both hitting high spots only to get a clean kickout made them look very weak. This ended the show.

Day 3 (Tuesday):

Note: The whole show won’t be shown as only some matches will be uploaded to NJPWWorld afterwards.

Yuya Uemura & Ayato Yoshida vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
Ren Narita & Shota Umina vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yota Tsuji & Tomoaki Honma
Toa Henare & Togi Makabe (0-1) vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata (1-0) (World Tag League Match)
Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin (0-1) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) (1-0) (World Tag League Match)
Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (0-1) vs. Takashi Iizuka & Minoru Suzuki (0-1) (World Tag League Match)
David Finlay & Juice Robinson (1-0) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga) (1-0) (World Tag League Match)
RPG3K (SHO & YOH), Best Friends (Chuckie T & Beretta) & Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL & Tetsuya Naito